


The Body Electric

by xenoglossy



Category: Analogue: A Hate Story/Hate Plus (Visual Novel series)
Genre: F/F, Harem ending, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 09:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5534750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoglossy/pseuds/xenoglossy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Hyun-ae is excited to have a body again; *Mute is having a harder time adjusting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Body Electric

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kaesa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaesa/gifts).



"*Mute?" *Hyun-ae tapped on the bedroom door.

No response.

*Hyun-ae knocked again, a little more insistently. "C'mon, *Mute, it's my bedroom too." (Miss Investigator's apartment only had the one; she hadn't been expecting to come back from the Mugunghwa mission with two new residents, of course. She was trying to figure out something else, but for now it was pretty close quarters, even for someone used to living on a spaceship.)

There was another silence, and then, just when *Hyun-ae was about to give up, a muffled voice said, "Fine."

There were sounds of movement from within--slow and, *Hyun-ae thought, somehow grudging--and then the lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal *Mute, wearing a pair of Miss Investigator's pajamas and looking... tired. These robot bodies couldn't technically _be_ tired (which was just fine with *Hyun-ae, who'd had enough of that for one lifetime), but *Hyun-ae couldn't think of any better way to describe the slump of *Mute's shoulders, the deadness of her eyes. Having let *Hyun-ae in, *Mute immediately turned away and went back to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," said *Hyun-ae, sitting down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," *Mute said flatly.

*Hyun-ae said nothing, just looked at her, waiting for the real answer.

"Look," said *Mute, "can you just fucking get what you came in here for and go?"

"I came in to see how you were doing, actually," *Hyun-ae said, not quite able to keep the irritation out of her voice. "You haven't been out of this room all day."

*Hyun-ae thought *Mute might snap back, but instead *Mute sighed and drew her knees up to her chin. For a moment, the pose made her look more like a teenager at a sleepover in an old movie than a millennia-old security AI, but then she turned her head to *Hyun-ae and the illusion was gone. "It's just... it's a lot, you know?"

*Hyun-ae nodded sympathetically. "It's been a tough adjustment for me too."

"I don't think you know the half of it."

"Just because certain attitudes are more similar here to what they were when I was a child than what you were used to doesn't mean it's just like home," *Hyun-ae said, bristling a little. "I mean, I was born on the ship, I've never even been on a planet before! And that's the least of it."

"It's not just that, though. I mean, like... you've had a body before. _You_ know what to do with all this sensory input. But me..." *Mute gave a short, humorless laugh. "It's stupid, I know. As security AI on the Mugunghwa, I processed more data than this every second. The locations of thousands of people, the operating status of dozens of systems... this should be nothing. But I just- like, I don't know what to _do_ with it."

"Oh! I didn't think of that," *Hyun-ae admitted. "I mean, I've been looking forward to it for so long... but of course it must be tough if you're not used to it."

"That's generous of you," *Mute grumbled.

"But think of all the new experiences you can have now!" *Hyun-ae went on, with determined cheerfulness. "There's lots of great things you can do with a body that you can't when you're just data in a computer."

"Ugh, *Hyun-ae, I don't want to hear about--"

"I don't mean anything, you know, indecent! ... Although I did miss that stuff too," *Hyun-ae added, and became momentarily distracted thinking about it.

"*Hyun-ae, _please_ \--"

"It's nice, though, you'll see! Anyway, I was just thinking about stuff like... well, having your hair stroked."

"That again? What the fuck is your obsession with hair? It's just a bunch of synthetic fibers in our case anyway."

*Hyun-ae sighed. "I'm not _obsessed_ , I just like it! C'mon, your hair's down right now already, so it's not like I'd mess it up that badly." She sat down next to *Mute on the bed. "Please?"

"Oh, all right. If it means that much to you."

"I can't believe you're still so tsuntsun after everything we've been through."

"And, like, I can't believe you're still so obsessed with Japanese cartoons, so I guess we're even."

Instead of saying anything in response, *Hyun-ae scooted closer and started running her fingers through *Mute's hair. It was, as *Mute had said, only synthetic fibers really, but it felt just as soft and fluffy as real hair. At first *Mute just sat there, looking grumpy as ever, but gradually she began leaning into the stroking, and her eyes half-closed. *Hyun-ae had never seen a cat up close and personal, but she still half expected *Mute to start purring.

They sat there that way, in contented silence, until *Mute said, "When you said 'you'll see' just now, what did you mean?"

"Huh?” *Hyun-ae said, and then her memory caught up with her. “Oh! Just, you know, when you're ready to try that sort of thing, I'll be here to help.”

“Don't be so sure I'd want to try it with _you_.”

“Because I'm a woman?”

“Because I don't think you know what you're doing, dear,” *Mute said with airy condescension. “I saw Block 34, remember--”

“I _told_ you never to mention that again! Anyway, I know more than you do.”

“Like, I was a security AI for over a thousand years, you know. I've seen a lot. Whether I wanted to or not,” she added hastily.

“Yeah, but that's not the same as practical experience.”

“Whatever, I still think I know more than you do.”

“Prove it,” said *Hyun-ae (feeling a touch of pride, because it was a pretty good line). *Mute’s face was very close to hers, she was suddenly aware, and it seemed like the moment to kiss her, so *Hyun-ae did, and *Mute actually kissed back, fiercely, almost angrily. There was a bit of teeth to it, but not in a clumsy way, and *Hyun-ae was kinda into that.

Then *Mute pulled away. “Nice try,” she said, shifting away from *Hyun-ae. “This isn't one of your trashy--”

“ _Stop!_ ” *Hyun-ae said, fairly certain they were about to go back to Block 34. “But you have to admit,” she added, “I got you to stop moping, right?”

“Shut up,” said *Mute.


End file.
